About the garden

Award: Silver Gilt Medal

This immersive garden took visitors on a whimsical journey through a slice of the Amazon Rainforest. They learned how tropical plants thrive in the wild and met the wondrous creatures that share this richly diverse—but highly threatened—ecosystem. The garden highlighted the integral links between flora, fauna, and our global environment.

Visitors gained a deeper understanding of how to care for a range of tropical houseplants and discovered why plants in the wild are rarely ‘picture perfect’. The designers invited everyone to embrace the imperfect beauty of nature. The design recreated the rainforest’s dense understory with layered planting that mimicked its natural structure.

Key Features

• Lush Planting: From ground-cover creepers to colourful flowering tropical aroids, large-leafed foliage stunners, and epiphytes perched on canopy trunks.
• Whimsical Illustrations: Playful depictions of rainforest creatures highlighted their ecological roles and connections to beloved houseplants.
• Atmospheric Effects: Sounds of rainfall, birdsong, and insects, along with mist and a waterfall, evoked rainforest humidity and ambience.
• Educational Elements: Printed materials and blog posts provided insights into houseplant care and rainforest ecology.
• Purpose: To inspire sustainable houseplant care by connecting indoor gardening to natural habitats.
• Inspiration: The Amazon’s unmatched biodiversity and its role as the origin of many houseplants, alongside the urgent need for habitat protection and ethical sourcing.

 Environmental Responsibility & Sustainability

The garden promoted sustainability by:

• Using reusable and recyclable materials for props, panels, and printed content, sourced and printed locally where possible.
• Reusing, repurposing, or recycling materials after the show.
• Selling, donating, or gifting plants post-event.
• Educating visitors on replicating rainforest conditions at home and reducing plant waste.

Plant Selection & Sourcing

Approximately 2,000 individual plants were used to create a dense, immersive experience. Key plant families included:

• Bromeliaceae: Epiphytic stars like Bromeliads and Tillandsia.
• Marantaceae: Patterned tropical beauties such as Calathea and Maranta.
• Araceae: Popular aroids like Spathiphyllum, Anthurium, Monstera, and Philodendron.
• Polypodiaceae: Lush ferns including Asplenium, Blechnum, Aglaomorpha, and Aspidium.
• Orchidaceae: Colourful orchids such as Miltoniopsis, Brassia, Cattleya, and Oncidium.

The designers aimed to make the natural habitat of familiar houseplants the unsung hero of the garden. Rare and unusual houseplants were also featured, with surprises revealed during the festival.

Plants were sourced from a variety of Dutch suppliers for diversity and quality, alongside several UK-based suppliers to support local horticulture.

Plant lists were provided by the designer as a guide, based on the time of year, location, and client brief. Final plant selections depended on growing conditions and availability, and while updates were made where possible, accuracy could not be guaranteed.